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Bringing Home The Baycon (Or What I Learned From Being Blackballed)

A couple of weeks ago, I found out that I had been blackballed from speaking at my own home convention, a place I’ve loved and cherished for almost a decade. This was a wanton act of discrimination, and perhaps more importantly, a show of utter disinterest in promoting prominent local science fiction authors. With a supposed emphasis on diversity, this act done to a Hispanic author casts an even darker shadow. It’s about as disturbing as it gets to see folk that you considered friends for years treat you with that level of disregard, while in the same stripe ignoring attendees who deliver me death threats.

Most shockingly, the event organizers (of whom I know very well and very personally) in question did not respond personally, but delivered a form letter to explain the ostracization. It’s disingenuous and displays a dismissal and dehumanization of which I could hardly conceive.

From a global health of fandom perspective, it leads me to the question: if an organization such as the Bay Area Science Fiction Convention doesn’t stand for Bay Area authors, and doesn’t care about Science Fiction first and foremost, what is the point of the organization? If other cons across the country are operating similarly, does a change need to occur?

I’ll get to the answers in a moment, but first, a little background on who I am, if you are a first-time reader. I’ve spoken, between Baycon (as it is called in the vernacular) and sister convention Con-Volution, at Bay Area Sci-Fi programming every year since 2012, which culminated in getting me stints at San Diego Comic-Con to present on panels for back to back years. My speaking has garnered me much positive feedback, actual quotes from attendees facebook messages: “great job moderating, I know that one was hard” and “that was the most fun panel of my life!” I’m a high energy person, and can be the life of the party, beloved by a large contingent of the local community. So what happened? Is my work less relevant this year than in years past?

Last November, four short months ago, after having worked hard for the Doomtown: Reloaded card game with their story and flavor for two years, I finally released my first novel. It’s science fiction, space opera to be precise, and has stirred a lot of the sci-fi and gaming community readerships alike, met with these sorts of accolades:

Big Name Authors: “This game-related novel is a lively, action-filled tale that should appeal to those who want a space adventure romp with intrigue and a touch of romance.” – Elizabeth Moon, Heris Serrano and Paksenarrion novels

“A classic space opera with all of the trappings, plus an engaging story and characters you can root for; have fun!” – S.D. Perry, author of Star Trek: Avatar and the Resident Evil novelizations“Jon Del Arroz is a promising new writer with a knack for story and an interesting voice.”—Jody Lynn Nye, author of the Wolfe Pack series“Jon Del Arroz has a novel I’m eager to take a look at…” – Deadlands and Savage Worlds creator, Shane Hensley“A ripping good space thriller!” – Nebula Award Winner Elizabeth Ann ScarboroughReader Reviews (35 so far with a 4.7/5 star rating on Amazon): “This book has everything a science fiction love would want”“Great read!!!!”“This is really deep stuff. I feel like I can go into your book for hours. Reminds me of Ender’s Game.”“An excellent sci-fi adventure story that builds an intriguing vision of the future.”

Never heard of Star Realms until this book was given as a suggested read, so I had no background to draw upon. Stands alone easily! Well thought out plot and very engaging characters.All pretty amazing feedback for the book (which you can vote for for Dragon Award Best Military Science Fiction and Fantasy here: http://application.dragoncon.org/dc_fan_awards_signup.php ). Exciting stuff, and with a popular app-game attached to it, one would think that a local science fiction convention would be clamoring to make sure I attend, especially if I’ve provided them with hours of hard work in the past. The book should merit a legendary party in its honor, up in the hotel that goes til the wee hours of the morning.But the convention, despite their namesake, has changed so it’s no longer about Bay Area authors. It’s not about Science Fiction either. One only has to go back to their last few years of programming to see what matters to the powers that be who have taken it over: it’s a place where politics transcend everything. You’re just as wont to find panels about “Combating Creationism”, “Climate Change Scenarios”, or “Diversity and Women”, and even on the appropriately themed programming, you’ll see guests like David Gerrold ranting about evil conservatives and hijacking innocuous topics. Looking at the Twitter feed of this year’s guest of honor, 95% of his posts are political attacks, so we can expect more of the same. What’s lacking is energetic talks about fun of Science Fiction. Ironically, when I first came to the scene, organizers saw my name as Hispanic and knowing little about me, placed me on programming that amounted to an hour and a half of complaining about how hard it is for minorities in fiction. Believe me, I know how hard it is as the target of soft-blackballing like this. The reason I was disinvited was because it is well known that I support the President of the United States, duly elected and all, and that I’m happy about the way the country is being run. You know, like most normal people are. That’s the only thing that’s changed between then and now. It’s the same dangerous rhetoric out there that many of these folk who run the convention post on such a consistent basis that has turned Facebook from a “fun catching up with friends” website to a hellhole of fear, anger and hate (which as Master Yoda taught us, leads to suffering!). It’s impossible to communicate anymore, and as such, there is a small but vocal power structure of people in the convention scene and publishing that can’t tolerate the concept of seeing my pretty face. I am a minority that’s been discriminated against, not because of my race, but because of my ideas. In Science Fiction, ideas are everything, and it’s frightening to think about those being shut down as a consequence. These people want my career to fail, and they believe they can accomplish that by silencing me and giving me the cold shoulder.What they didn’t count on is this: they picked on someone who’s not the type to go down quietly and let them win with this kind of behavior. I don’t care about the odds and I don’t care about social pressure. I’m going to fight my hardest, even if I’m down 28-9 in the middle of the third quarter, when the commentators relentlessly tell me there’s no path to victory. Some things are worth fighting for, even in conditions like those. And I know how to win.

Baycon and its sister convention Con-Volution have been headed down this path for years, and I have heard stories about how local cons across the nation are facing similar problems. When conventions stop being about fun, and start being about grievance and hate, less and less people attend. They’ve been seeing this trend go on for years without a clear solution, as local comic-cons, anime cons, gaming cons and the like have skyrocketed in membership. Each year I keep seeing the same people ask why, and the answer is right in front of their faces. Each year, they double down with hyper-charged political programming, presenting only one side.When you turn something that is fun, something that people pay good money to come connect and enjoy into something, only to be faced with a browbeating, angry, and exclusive situation, you lose people. Here in California, the splits seem so extreme perhaps they think they can get away with it, but by disinviting rising prominent local authors like myself, they’re still sending a message to 40% of people that they’re not welcome. They’ll also find themselves losing the elusive “middle” as they see this and figure they would rather spend time at one of those other cons where they can just have fun and not get preached to. With a theme this year of “Utopia/Dystopia”, and the guest mentioned above, I can only imagine how bad the political ranting and preaching is going to get. Why can’t we return to the the sense of wonder of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert Heinlein, or Orson Scott Card that used to be brought to us in rich tradition? Those alternative voices would be shouted down in today’s environment.It’s my policy to not complain about something unless I am working toward and presenting a solution. So do I have one? Absolutely. It’s simple, and can be applied across the field. Focus on Science Fiction. Support local authors. Reach out, don’t turn away. You’re not in a movie “fighting nazis” and doing good for the world by making a politically charged anger-fest and ignoring anyone who’s not on board with that. You’re just attempting to hurt people who disagree with you, and failing at it. Removing that element is simple, and we can all find commonality together pretty easily like we did in years past, and leave grievances behind. We can work together to create smiling loyal friends instead of sad, kicked puppies. Together, we can make Science Fiction smart again, make Science Fiction fun again, make Science Fiction great again!

101 thoughts on “Bringing Home The Baycon (Or What I Learned From Being Blackballed)”

You’re right: you do have a pretty face. 😉 Seriously, though,I was already leaning heavily toward not attending because things were so uncomfortable last year. This clinches it. If the convention cannot support local authors with recent successes to celebrate, I have no reason to support the convention.

Amen, Mr. Del Arroz. Very well said, and absolutely right. It’s a shame to see something like that happening (again). I don;t want to imagine the number of writers and film-makers who don’t get a ‘chance’ at making their works known (or actually see them in paper/on-screen) because of this kind of fanatic blackballing.

Jon; we’ve never met and I just became aware of you as an author through Nick Cole’s site sharing your blog. As a result;
#1 I ordered you book
#2 I already want to know more about you and your plans for future works
#3 Please know that you are going to be appreciated by me and thousands of others for the quality of your work, or be made aware of the shortcomings of your work if need be
#4 You are not alone
#5 DRIVE ON SIR!

I am afraid stuff like this is just going to get worse, the deeper we go into the Trump administration. Especially if the economy picks up and Trump’s good call to bad call ratio averages about 3 out of 5. Rather then embark upon a period of humility and reflection, the American Left are doubling down on everything that enabled the Trump win to begin with. Such as banning people the Left does not like, from places of prominent exposure. Because banning people — whether it’s at a convention, or on a college campus — is totally consonant with liberal idealism.

Oh, wait, the modern American Left aren’t liberal.

They don’t even know the meaning of the word anymore. If ever they did?

Thank you for saying this. I’ve watched BayCon change majorly over the past 20 years. And saw certain types of people, of writing, of art leave because Baycon was not the welcoming place it used to be.

Hey Jon. This is very well written. I know people who won’t be attending Baycon for these very reasons. I don’t much agree with your politics but wholeheartedly believe you have a right to those opinions. I also believe that cutting off dialogue and diversity at Baycon is abhorrent. It’s a dismal parody of its origins and very saddening. In essence they have become exactly what they purport to be against
We will always share a plate of pasta, a glass of wine and some spirited but respectful dialogue with you!. Hugs!

You have my sympathies, but I’m afraid the disease is both widespread and intrinsic to formal organizations. I wrote about it in this piece and the ones it links. We cannot expect the SJWs, who worship power, to do otherwise…and it seems we cannot contrive a formal organization that’s immune to the incentives.

Mr. Del Arroz – on the one hand, I’m sorry you’ve been cut off, but hope that you will find a community of supporters in us.

And “Anger leads to hate” is one of those wise-sounding pieces of BS that I absolutely loathe.

Brad – the left has ALWAYS been a death cult on an inevitable path to death and genocide unless explicitly resisted. While I appreciate the ideals of old-school (classic) liberalism, and small-L libertarinaism, taking the things in them that are good, like caring about the poor, and subverting it to the state, as leftists do, and and all tendencies to accumulate power to the state, are, in a word, evil. They take what should be a moral choice and make it mandatory

Stalin, Lenin, Mao, Chavez, Castro, etc., are not the exceptions. How long Germany and Europe have held out through work ethic/etc. is.

Thank you for your support. I wouldn’t ban someone from my Geek Chats show just cuz they voted differently. I want to talk about fun cultural stuff if I can. It’s such a bizarre mindset to me, I’m still in shock from it to be honest.

Good for you for coming out. I’ve no idea whether your new president (I’m not American) is a genius or a disaster but his general approach is well within the mainstream of American thought over the last 50-odd years and I’m very heartened by his early appointments. For you to support him is, or at least should be, entirely unexceptional and perfectly reasonable.

I wish you the best; I’d normally never buy a tie-in game novel, but I bought yours after reading your post over at Vox’s.

I also bought your book. Free on Kindle Unlimited, $2.99 otherwise. If you can read this post, you can one-click this bad boy.

Also, you may not feel comfortable doing this, but I hope you name some of those false friends who shunned you and ruined your con. If they’ve made you their enemy, then you make them yours. Make the rubble bounce!

Thank you for your support. As far as naming people and pointing fingers at folk who are at the end of the day volunteers and probably not in as comfortable a life spot I am, not sure that does good and not sure that’d be the Christian thing to do. I’ll be calling out bigger names who are using their platform to attack friends or me, though. No more of that nonsense!

My client and family Declan Finn shared your story on his blog. I’ve shared both your post and his on FB. It is truly terrible how politics have destroyed everything enjoyable about con life. You have convinced me to never attend Baycon unless they clean up their act.
I hope to be with Declan at DragonCon this year. I also hope you’ll be there, too.
Damn the politics, full speed ahead!

Jon: Came here from Vox’s. As someone who used to work in the SF publishing industry many years ago at the start of the convergence and who used to attend conventions, I can only say that the rot has only accelerated. I couldn’t imagine going to a convention now, but I’m sorry that something you enjoyed has been soiled and spoiled. The upside is that there are many non-SJWs still in and interested in SFF and alternatives are starting to emerge. The converged traditional systems will soon crash under their own weight.

I’m looking to buy and read your book, but have a question: is it locked with DRM on Amazon?

You have more friends and fans than you think, and that’s only going to grow…

Thanks Lost Sailor! I think we’re friends on Gab? I think it is locked with DRM on amazon but if you shoot me the receipt I’ll talk to the publisher and see if I can get you an unlocked version (assuming they’ll talk to me!)

Thanks. I have a nook and need to be able to convert to epub. Otherwise have to read on my phone, not the best experience.

And why wouldn’t your publisher talk to you? And why wouldn’t they have an epub version of the book. I checked B&N and only the paperback is available there, no ebook.

Keep fighting the good fight!

(I’m not on Gab as much as I’d like, but I’m sure I’ll get bounced from Twitter one of these days; even though I don’t tweet much in comparison to others, I’ve confirmed that I’m sometimes shadowbanned…

That came from my publisher, not sure if they’re trying to slow down sales or what. I got some not so happy messages today after being on Vox’s blog. Look for a negative announcement about me tomorrow!

You need to give up on any hopes for commonality, and just accept the depths of evil they represent. Not religious evil- just the plain old human variety in all its banality.

They want you dead. Plain and simple. If they had full executive power in this country, you’d see pogroms and genocides unparalleled in human history. This is not Prison Planet style conspiracy ranting. They don’t even hide their desires for this anymore. You can go out there on the Net and read it. They Tweet about it daily.

The ones at the top of the heap *know* what they push is toxic and dangerous. The chaos is the intended result. Their vision is a global aristocracy presiding over a mass of serfs keep continuously distracted by internecine conflict based on as many identities they can whip up. The rest, the millions of prog-leftists, are the useful idiots who actually carry out things like firebombing of an event to discuss freedom of speech.

Look at how they are trying to normalize violence. At some point “I punched him, but it’s OK because he’s a Nazi” will become “I killed him, but it’s OK because he was a Nazi”. History shows it to inevitable.

To not be a total downer, I don’t normally buy game series based books, but people seem to like them, and I am a gamer, so I’ll probably give your a whirl and show some solidarity. Good luck. Stay vigilant.

They don’t seem to learn, do they? I’d’ve never heard half the authors I read now, if it hadn’t been for the Sad Puppies brouhaha. I’ve never heard of Nick Cole if his idiot publisher hadn’t tried to shut him down. And today, I discovered the work of Jon del Arroz.

Thinking about it! Because of my book’s game nature I may have to go to Gencon to sign there and can only do one cross-country flight a year with kids and all that. But LibertyCon has always appealed to me!

Speaking as someone who has actually made the trip from the West Coast (Portland, OR, area) to LibertyCon: Easier Said Than Done, Joker.

Just the air travel alone was a Certifiable Nightmare, to include:

1) At *no* point in my travels was I *ever* anywhere close to On-Time; the closest the airlines could manage was being half-an-hour late out of PDX.

2) The flight between Chicago and Raleigh-Durham was delayed *in-flight* due to a massive thunderstorm over Indianapolis; rather than straight-lining it, the plane had to go due south, perform a column-left around Indy, then kick due east to R-D.

3) The return flight from R-D to Chi-town *COMPLETELY* *DISAPPEARED* — I turned up at the airport gate to find No Airplane, and not even anyone at the desk. I wound up having to go to Newark, then take a cross-country flight to PDX.

Having driven from PDX to Orlando, FL, and back: Three days’ driving by myself — NO ES BUENO. (Almost getting cleaned out by a semi going over the mountains between R-D and Chattanooga did not help my state-of-mind any.)

Unfortunately, the Baen “bias” (for lack of a better word — think in terms of how a dirt-track sprint car is “biased” to turning left) toward the Southeast does leave folks like The Proprietor and myself out in the cold (in my case, literally as well as figuratively). The only truly-viable solution is a “long march” — namely: Starting our own cons, and bootstrapping up from there; and if we pick up business from people tired of the petty quibbling, so much the better.

Greetings Jon,
Never heard you until today when I read your story over at Vox Day’s blog. Went to Amazon to check out your book since I do like a good space opera. Liked what I saw and purchased it.
Thanks from a new customer

“When you turn something that is fun, something that people pay good money to come connect and enjoy into something, only to be faced with a browbeating, angry, and exclusive situation, you lose people.”
Their business model is different. It’s based on guilting/blackmailing corporations into sponsoring them, getting government and NGO grants, campaigning for public libraries to buy their books, persuading literature professors (not that much persuasion is needed) into assigning them as required reading, getting favorable reviews from congenial critics, etc.. Probably the ultimate goal is a tenured appointment or a job in the communications department of some big corporation.
The common point in all these scenarios is that “losing people” makes absolutely no difference, but toeing the ideological line does. In fact, they probably see their lack of mass appeal as a plus. It’s a sign of elevation and respectability. More respectability means a greater chance of making it onto a college course reading list and then onto the college faculty. SF is just a stepping stone, which they don’t even particularly like.
And even if they don’t reach their goal, they’ll still have managed to poison the well. It’s just like classical music or belletristic literature: both were relevant, vibrant, rich, and well-liked before the same sorts of people got their hands on them. Now they barely survive in isolated, out-of-the-mainstream places, like ancient Greek and Latin.
“Why can’t we return to the the sense of wonder of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert Heinlein, or Orson Scott Card that used to be brought to us in rich tradition? Those alternative voices would be shouted down in today’s environment.”
Again, this is the whole point. Even if normal people felt some genuine curiosity for genuine SF, they’ll be put off by this atmosphere and move on. So maybe SF will shrivel and die. But then what? If they (i.e. the ideological police) can’t be satisfied (and they never can), they’ll try to make sure nobody else can either.
This change is already well on its way for SF. However, just like for classical music, there should be a solution. Maybe the new kind should be called progressive or experimental SF and the normal kind that people like reading should be called classical or traditional SF. There should be separate sections in bookstores and on Amazon (and separate conventions, awards, etc. — but that’s actually happening). Then people would more or less know what they’re getting (Baen had a great idea here) and wouldn’t be afraid to spend their money on an unknown author.

I was not aware of you, Jon, until I read about you in Vox Day’s blog today. I naturally went to Amazon and bought your novel. I have only read a few pages so far [curses on work!] but a great start. If your current publisher craps on you, consider going with Vox’s Castalia House.

Hey, I was not aware of you either, until I read about you on Vox’s blog just now. How may I contact you? You may be able to answer some questions for me right now.
The Left in the this country scares me. Really scares me. I was very much centrist until November 10, when the radicals just went bananas. I have not been blackballed by SJWs at all, but maybe that’s because I keep my politics to myself–but that might not last. You said something about a cousin whom you played Risk with completely disowning you. That is not moral, or even rational behavior. I have had two unpleasant recent encounters with SJWs. Once, when agreed with a satire of anti-Trump protestors on deviant art, an SJW made a remark calling myself and another poster “roaches” that he had no love for. I also had a short tussle with an SJW over a Trump-related subject I don’t have space to discuss here (I challenged the SJW). Her position on the issue was so disturbing I don’t like to think about. Anyway, I have this satirical novel I just published via createspace that is not exactly pro-Trump but is defintitely anti-SJW.
No tell me–how frightened of the response from the public should I be? And of SJWs attacking, and how they will do it. I want publicity of course, and in the past I’ve not gotten enough. But given the subject matter, what should I expect, and how should I react.
You said you’re pro-Trump. I really don’t know what to make of him. But from what I’ve seen and heard of the hard Left these days, they are one mean, nasty,scary bunch.

The second convention was formed as much as a reaction to the first as for any other reason. It is like the Jew washed ashore on a desert island for a decade who builds a whole town for himself: a mansion, a school, a hospital … and two synagogues. When he is rescued, he shows his rescuers the town and they ask, “Why two synagogues?”

Here is this post again. It may have not gotten on somehow last time. It was likely that it was not posted, however, because you chose to ignore it; I realize that and will NOT post again if it does not get on this time. So, you know how to be rid of me.

I was not aware of you either, until I read about you on Vox’s blog just now. How may I contact you? You may be able to answer some questions for me right now.
The Left in the this country scares me. Really scares me. I was very much centrist until November 10, when the radicals just went bananas. I have not been blackballed by SJWs at all, but maybe that’s because I keep my politics to myself–but that might not last. You said something about a cousin whom you played Risk with completely disowning you. That is not moral, or even rational behavior. I have had two unpleasant recent encounters with SJWs. Once, when agreed with a satire of anti-Trump protestors on deviant art, an SJW made a remark calling myself and another poster “roaches” that he had no love for. I also had a short tussle with an SJW over a Trump-related subject I don’t have space to discuss here (I challenged the SJW). Her position on the issue was so disturbing I don’t like to think about. Anyway, I have this satirical novel I just published via createspace that is not exactly pro-Trump but is defintitely anti-SJW.
No tell me–how frightened of the response from the public should I be? And of SJWs attacking, and how they will do it. I want publicity of course, and in the past I’ve not gotten enough. But given the subject matter, what should I expect, and how should I react.
You said you’re pro-Trump. I really don’t know what to make of him. But from what I’ve seen and heard of the hard Left these days, they are one mean, nasty,scary bunch.

Came over from Bayou Renaissance Man’s blog, got your book, will read it this week. I’m truly sorry to hear what has happened, and sadly really not surprised. California and more especially the Bay Area has taken a hard left and doesn’t look like it’s coming back to reality any time soon… I’ll get a post up tomorrow to help spread the word, and I’ll second the other’s comments, you really should try to make LibertyCon, I think you’d enjoy it and the folks there!